The sixth edition of the Malta International Music Festival will kick off on Sunday, starring world-famous musicians, including Maltese violinist Carmine Lauri.

Lauri will perform in a gala concert on April 16, featuring the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, which will be augmented by soloists from the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and will be conducted by Sergey Smbatyan.

For this concert, Lauri has chosen the lesser popular Henryk Wieniawski’s 1st Violin Concerto in F# minor op.14. As a performer, Wieniawski was famed for his left-hand technique, his unconventional bow-arm and his intense vibrato, which according to Fritz Kreisler, “he brought to heights never before achieved”.

Lauri will perform this concerto on the ‘Baron Deurbroucq’ Stradivari violin, made in 1727. This fine example of Stradivari’s late-period instruments is on loan from J & A Beare Ltd of London.

This particular violin was previously on loan to famous Dutch violinist Janine Jansen and had a long consistent history of being played by artists such as Efrem Zimbalist. The ‘Baron Deurbroucq’ has a very rich and deep sound, especially in the lower register.

The concert will take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta on April 16 at 8pm. For tickets, visit www.showshappening.com. For more information about the festival, log on to www.maltafest.eu.

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